Photograph by: Gerry Kahrmann
, PNG

VANCOUVER — Somehow, a springtime that began with “I wonder what the Canucks will get for Roberto Luongo?” morphed into a summer of “I wonder why they haven’t done the deal yet?” to an autumn of “You mean he’s still here?” to a winter that has utterly turned a foregone conclusion upside down.

Now, after one season-opening disaster and a series of head-scratching decisions by head coach Alain Vigneault, the question has become: “I wonder what the Canucks could get for Cory Schneider?” And now, because of a bad case of waffling on the part of Vigneault — who claims to have a master plan for the goalies one day, and says he’s going with his gut, game by game, the next — the can of worms is open, and the little devils are wriggling all over what looked, nine months ago, like a seamless transition in the making.

While the trade market slumbers, Luongo gains confidence, along with credibility and likability, by the day. It’s as though his slate has been wiped clean in Vancouver, and the critical masses have begun to view him through a wholly different lens, now that he’s about to leave.

That’s good for him, and not terrible for the Canucks, who are enjoying the best of Roberto and, as a handy by-product, allowing potential trade partners to see him at his regular-season stingiest.

And Schneider? He’s languishing on the bench, wondering what hit him.

He’s keeping the stiff upper lip, but surely dying a little inside, after Vigneault handed Luongo a “gimme” win Wednesday over the lowly (and shorthanded) Colorado Avalanche, and followed it up by naming the 33-year-old veteran to start Friday’s grudge match at home against the 3-2-2 Canucks’ most bitter rivals, the 6-0-1 Chicago Blackhawks.

That’s bad for the 26-year-old who’s supposed to be the future of the franchise, and it could be bad, long-term, for a team that must have broken some of the promises it made to him before he agreed to a three-year, $12 million extension during the off-season.

“I signed it knowing full well this could have happened,” Schneider said Thursday, still playing the good soldier. “I was well aware of the possibilities. Nothing in this world is guaranteed, so when I signed the contract, I did it in good faith.

“So it’s not like it’s a surprise. It’s a scenario that could have played out and it has.”

The good faith, though, doesn’t appear to have been reciprocated. While GM Mike Gillis waits for the perfect deal — having reportedly passed on at least one (Tyler Bozak/Nazem Kadri from Toronto) that might have helped his team considerably in other areas both now and into the future — the fans and media have all sensed the strain the lack of closure must be putting on the goalies’ hopes for this season ... and their relationship.

Publicly, they’re keeping it light.

Vigneault, when asked if he could divulge a few of the reasons for his choice of Luongo against the Blackhawks, pulled a coin out of his pocket, flipped it, slapped it on his wrist and said: “Louie.” And smiled.

He’s not about to tell anyone how he makes his decisions, other than to say the coaching staff has input, “but at the end of the day, it’s my call.”

“Does [Gillis] have input, too?” someone asked.

“Oh yeah. Mike has input on everything,” Vigneault said, chuckling. “He’s not afraid to share it, too. And that’s what he has to do. He’s the general manager.”

On statistics alone, not to mention momentum, the decision to play Luongo is sensible enough. He’s coming off a shutout, he’s got a goals-against average (1.61) that’s roughly twice as good as Schneider’s, though the younger goalie’s 3.13 GAA and .897 save percentage (to Luongo’s .938) are largely due to giving up five goals on 14 Anaheim shots in the season opener before being pulled 26 minutes in.

But the fact is, the ostensible No. 1 goalie has already played fewer minutes than the guy who was supposed to have been long gone by now.

And what happens if Luongo is a winner again Friday?

“I don’t think any of us could have” envisioned the current situation,” Luongo admitted. “That’s the reality of it. But I’m in a happy place right now, playing well, the team’s playing well, and I just want keep ’er going.”

“I don’t know if there is a plan, it’s just ... the team played well, won a big game, and we’re going to roll with it. I don’t think it’s any more complicated than that,” Schneider said.

The prospect of this continuing for any length of time is “more in Mike’s (GM Gillis) hands than mine,” Luongo said. “I gave him the green light to do whatever he wants, so that’s his call, not mine.”

And the choice of goaltenders is Vigneault’s call. Luongo doesn’t know what the coach bases his decisions on.

“No, it’s a gut feeling, I guess,” he said. “But I’ve gotta be honest, he’s made a lot of good calls since I’ve been here on which goalie to start in which circumstance, and most of the time when he makes a call that goes against conventional thinking, it pays off.”

Schneider has continued to act like the perfect understudy, betraying no bitterness even though the lead role was supposed to have been his by now.

“I think we’re past the point of disappointment and anger and frustration. It is what it is, and you just have to be a professional about it,” he said.

“I don’t feel bad for myself, I don’t think anyone else does. If you’re going to sit there and pout about not playing, it’s a little selfish. And I understand that you have to have the desire to play — and I do, I want to play — but at the same time, you can’t put yourself ahead of 20 other guys trying to do the job.

“I don’t know if people forget: we’re on the same team. I’m sure people pick sides and root for one guy over the other, but we’re on the same team and we’re trying to accomplish the same goal.”

The relationship, both goalies say, is just fine. Neither needs to be reminded not to take the daily fluctuations in status personally.

“That was discussed amongst ourselves a long, long time ago, going back to last year, so it’s not a big deal,” Luongo said. “Just like when he was playing in the playoffs, I was 100 per cent behind him, wishing him well, and that’s the way it goes.”

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